Networking computing devices, or nodes, have become very popular in home environments as well as in office environments. In the home in particular, networking computing devices allow for multimedia and other content to be delivered throughout the home, regardless of which device initially generates or receives the content. For example, a cable television or satellite television set-top box may initially receive video content, which can then be sent to other computing devices located throughout a house. Computing devices as used herein include all types of devices commonly connected to a computer, such as display devices, storage devices, printing devices, and so on, as well as other types of electronic devices, such as audio and video devices, and so on.
Most home networks particularly rely on one or two different transport technologies at most. Two common types of transport technologies are wired Ethernet and wireless Ethernet, or Wi-Fi. A given house usually has the same type of transport technology used throughout. Even if two or more different transport technologies are employed, however, a given device usually is connected to the network using just one transport technology. The only exceptions are specialized bridge devices that connect, or bridge, the different transport technologies.